Show-case.



Patented poc. 5, |899.

No. 638,253. l

. J. LEHNBEUTER. l

SHOW CASE.

"Application led Aug. 21,.1B99.)

"No Model.)

l1 I l1 V 5* Un'rtfitn1 dramas arent* tries.

JOSEPH LEHNBEUTER, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSI-GNOR TO THE CLAES di LEHNBEUTER MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

SHOW-CASE.'

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 638,253, dated December 5, 1899. Application tiled August 21,1899. Serial No. 728,002. (No model.)

To all whom it 71u01/ concern: y Be it known that l, JOSEPH LEHNBEUTER, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Louis, State of Missouri, have invented cer- 5 tain new and useful Improvements in Show- Cases, of which the following is a full, clear, and eXact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof.

1o My invention has relation to improvements in show-cases; and it consists in the novel construction of details lnore fully set forth in the specification and pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure l is a top plan View I 5 of a glass case with top wall partly broken away and the end and longitudinal walls in section, taken in a plane indicated by line l 1 of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a side elevation with part of one ofthe longitudinal Walls broken away.

zo Fig. 3 is an end view of the securing-bracket enlarged. Fig. 4 is an enlarged section on line l l of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is an end View of one of the cornerbrackets and screw securing the same to the top wall. Fig. 6 is a top z5 plan view of the corner-bracket, and Fig. 7 is a sectional detail showing the cushioning plug or sleeve encircling the shank of the securlng-screw.

The object of my invention is to provide 3o glass show-cases with a wall-fastening bracket which while the same is applied at the angle formed between any two walls of the case will in no way interfere with the light at the meeting edges of the walls thus fastened. By

3 5 thus minimizing the obstruction to the lightrays a superior finish is imparted to the edges of the showcase, as will more fully appear from a detailed description of the invention, which is as follows:

4o Referring to the drawings, l l represents the longitudinal Vertical walls of a glass showcase, 2 the end wall, and 3 the top wall. Distributed at the angle or meeting edges of any two walls are aseries of wall-fastening brack- 45 ets, each comprising two arms 4 4, the angle between which corresponds to the angle which the glass plates constituting the walls of the case make with each other, (in the present instance a right angle.) `The free end of 'each 5o arm 4 terminates in an expanded preferably disk-shaped bearing or base 5, whose plane surface is adapted to bear directly against the glass plate. Each base 5 is provided with a centrally-disposed screw-threaded socket 6, which is adapted to receive the screw-threaded 5 5 end of the shank of a securing-screw 7, the head of the latter being provided with suitable depressions or recesses 8 for the reception of the arms of a key (not shown) by which the screw is driven home. 6o

The meeting-point of the arms 4 is preferably expanded into a lobe 4', which in some instances may be provided with a screwthreaded opening and receive the screwthreaded end of a screw 7', which I may use as 65 an additional fastener in cases where it is desirable to connect any three plates or walls of the show-case at the corners. This additional fastener is illustrated in Figs. 2, 5, and 6.

It will be seen from the foregoing that the 7o arms of the brackets span the meeting edges or bases of the angles formed by the two walls to which the arms are secured, the span between the arms and such meeting edges permitting the free passage of light-rays and re- 75 sultingin a superior nish for the case. Under the `old forms of construction, Wherean ordi- .nary angle bar or bracket was used, with the face of each member of such angle-bar se-i cured to the glass plate, the light was inter- 8o cepted at that particular point of the meet ing edges of the plates, the members of the brackets showing through the glass. The objectionable feature is wholly eliminated by my present improvement. 35

It isto be understood, of course, that I do not limit myself to the precise shape of the arms, nor to the angle they make with one anl other, nor to the contour of the supporting bases or bearings, as heretofore referred to, 9o but that minor changes might be made in the device without departing from the spirit of my invention. It is obvious that the angle between the arms may range anywhere from ninety degrees (or less) to one hundred and 95 eighty degrees.

While the brackets perforated at the lobes or meeting ends of the arms are admirably adapted for corner-pieces, the same may be used, when placed in series along the upper roo edge of the case, to support between them a rod or bar 10 (the rod being passed through the openings of the lobes) for the support and display of novelties inside the show-case.

In order to prevent the head of the securingscrew from bearing directly against the glass plate, I insert into the opening of the glass through which the shank of the screw passes a preferably wooden plug ll, (see Fig. 7,) which normally projects beyond the surface of the glass. The screw-head thereby bears against the end of the plug, the shank of the former at the same time being prevented from rubbing against the walls of the hole formed in the glass.

IIaving described my invention, what I claim isl. A show-case bracket adapted to have its free ends secured to two meeting Walls of the show-case, the body of the bracket spanning the base of the angle formed by the walls, substantially as set forth.

2. A show ease bracket comprising two arms angularly disposed toward one another, and means for securing the free ends of the arms to the two meeting walls of the case, the arms spanning the base of the angle formed by the Walls, substantially as set forth.

3. A show case bracket comprising two arms meeting at a common point and disposed at an angle corresponding to that formed by the planes of any two walls of the show-case, expanded bases at the free ends of the arms adapted to bear against the walls of the case, serewthreaded sockets formed in the expanded bases, and securing-screws passed through suitable openings of the walls and entering the said sockets, the arms of the bracket spanning the base of the angle formed between the meeting Walls whereby the lightrays are uninterrupted at the points opposite said brackets, substantially as set forth.

4. A show-case corner-'bracket comprising two arms meeting at a common point, an eX- panded lobe formed at the point of juncture of the two arms, expanded bases at the free ends of the arms adapted to bear against the walls of the case, screw -threaded sockets formed iu the expanded bases, securingscrews passed through suitable openings of the Walls and entering said sockets, the arms of the bracket spanning the base of the angle formed between the Walls to which the bases of the arms are secured, a screw-threaded opening formed in the lobe at the meetingpoint of the arms, and a bolt passed through the wall opposite the lobe andV inserted into ,the lobe, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

J OSEPH LEI-INBEUTER.

Vitnesses:

EMIL STAREK, GEO. L. BELFRY. 

